Spring Newsletter 2016
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SPRING 2016 Headteacher’s Message Welcome back to a new school term after what, I hope, was a restful and enjoyable Christmas break spent with family and MOVING PICTURES friends. I would also like to welcome some new colleagues to our team and thank some existing colleagues who have taken on additional responsibilities (see table at bottom of page): The new term is already well underway with staff and students, once again, actively engaged in teaching, learning and assessment. As I write, students in the sixth form have just sat their mocks and Year 11 are reflecting on their recent mock results and Parents’ Evening and, I trust, planning the revision programmes that will lead to their eventual success in the summer. Year 10 continues to impress us with the determination to succeed on their new GCSE courses and I know many students are already focused on their preparations following the Year 10 Parents’ Evening for end of year exams, in the full knowledge that these will be a good indicator of their ultimate success in summer 2017. This term is a crucial one for Years 8 and 9. Both year groups will be choosing their options, with the guidance of colleagues in school. Parents of students in Year 8 will already be aware that we are moving to a 3 year Key Stage 4 in order to better prepare our young people for the new GCSE specifications and, in due course, we shall meet with each Y8 and Y9 student and his or her parents/carers to ascertain the suitability of the subjects chosen. These are always fruitful conversations that staff very much look forward to. In preparation for these meetings, parents Moving Pictures was a new and unique art programme set up to promote local heritage, might like to have conversations about career aspirations with creativity, and excellence in Art and Digital Media working with Chenderit School, their children and investigate the wide ranging possibilities Middleton Cheney Library Supporters Group, Middleton Cheney Primary School and All for post 16 and post 18 learning. The following websites are Saints Church. This project celebrated the great art of William Morris and Edward Burne recommended: https://nationalcareersservice.direct.gov. Jones. The programme focused on the west windows of All Saints Church, Middleton uk/Pages/Home.aspx and https://nationalcareersservice. Cheney and created a giant floor-sized collage on the floor of the Lecture Theatre using direct.gov.uk/Pages/Home.aspx recycled objects, plastics and materials. This was streamed out on a GoPro camera onto the World Wide Web as well as to popular social media sites during a number of individual Our delightful Year 7 students have settled well and continue to workshops this year. It also helped celebrate the birth of film in 1890s to help create impress us. As a year group, the students are very supportive animation, large scale sketches, drawings and flipbooks to coincide with the Big Draw of each other’s learning and many have been involved in event, the world’s largest drawing festival: http://www.thebigdraw.org sports teams, public speaking competitions and the school production. Year 7 students are also regularly attending extra Supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England, South morning reading sessions and our voluntary HW club. Northants Council, South Northamptonshire Homes and private sponsors, it worked with young people, adults and families together in workshops running for ten days which culminated in They are showing a high degree of commitment to their studies late November. Working with Mr Christy, (Head of Art), Mr Osborne, (Media teacher) and a and to our school’s culture and ethos and I commend them collection of professional local artists it helped showcase local talent, expertise and imagination for the positive start they have made here: they are, indeed, in the creation of a contemporary artwork using a combination of digital media and traditional impressive ambassadors for our school. art methods. According to Mr Osborne, ‘It helped us to look back in wonder at some of the I hope you enjoy reading this edition of Intouch and gain most amazing local artworks and to use that to make something new, exciting and worthwhile, a great sense of all the opportunities that are available to celebrating the Visual Arts status of the school and the ambition of aiming high’. Moving Pictures our students. If your child has not yet engaged in any of the has been entered for a national award. activities mentioned herewith, please encourage him or her to try something new this year. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQxn5gsyvBE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfCqbiOZG4k I wish our whole school community a very Happy New Year. Twitter: @movinpix Jane Cartwright For more information contact: moving [email protected] Team Role Name Contact Details Support staff Attendance Officer Mrs Julie Macarthur [email protected] Support staff Cover Supervisor – Teaching Assistant Miss Anna Greening [email protected] Support staff Cover Supervisor – Teaching Assistant Miss Colleen Keenan [email protected] Support staff Teaching Assistant Miss Rebecca Bailey [email protected] Support staff Technology Technician Mr Brian Reid [email protected] English Acting Head of English Ms Patricia Thornhill [email protected] Maths Teacher of Maths Ms Angela Kennedy [email protected] Guidance Acting Head of Y9 (A half: tutor groups) Mr Chris Davies [email protected] Guidance Acting Head of Y9 (B half: tutor groups) Mrs Emma White [email protected] Guidance Acting Head of Y9 (tutor team/assemblies) Mr Chris Williamson [email protected] In October, AS photography students visited Cornwall which formed the starting point of their Year 12 project. The group stayed in Penzance and visited locations such as St Michael’s Mount, Geevor Tin Mine, Eden Project, St Ives and Lacock Abbey. Students used SLR film cameras and digital cameras to CORNWALL VISIT take photographs which they later developed back at school. Students managed to capture ‘light drawing’ photographs using long shutter speeds, dramatic sunsets, structural images, landscape, seascape and portrait photographs. It was a fabulous learning opportunity to develop their skills at the start of the academic year, with some stunning subject matter to capture. MICHAEL HESELTINE GALLERY The school’s gallery currently hosts an exhibition of work by photographer Lou Boileau. Many of Lou’s large scale black and white photographs reveal a glimpse into the lives of celebrity icons such as John Thaw, Simon Callow and Rik Mayall, while others document sporting events or simply capture the unexpected or the beautiful. The National Portrait Gallery in London has also acquired many of Lou’s photographs for their permanent collection and Lou’s work is a must see if you are interested in photography. The exhibition runs until the 11th of February. Coming next to the gallery is an exhibition by art staff from Banbury and Bicester college (25/2/16 – 23/3/16). Later in the year we host an exhibition by local artist Caroline Chappell (11/4/16 – 28/4/16) before our annual Selected Open exhibition, our A level exhibition and our Student Celebration exhibition. As always, the gallery is open to visitors from 9.00 to 4.00 on school days. If you would like to receive email updates on forthcoming exhibitions and details of private views, please email mrisbridger@chenderit. northants.sch.uk in order to be added to our growing mailing list. If you want to discuss future exhibitions or ideas, or are a practising artist looking for somewhere to exhibit your work, please get in touch with Tom Christy, Chenderit’s Head of Art at [email protected] NEWS FROM THE GEOGRAPHY DEPARTMENT Year 8 Birmingham Fieldtrip 2015 On the 28th September 2015 the Geography department took all of Year 8 on a fieldtrip to the centre of Birmingham. The students had been studying urbanisation in their lessons, with a focus on the growth, decline and recent redevelopment of Birmingham. The focus of the day visit was to look at a variety of schemes that have been redeveloped over the last 20 years, such as the International Convention Centre, Brindley Place, Water’s Edge and the Bullring. Students carried out a variety of fieldwork techniques such as people counts, environmental surveys and field sketches so that they may be able to judge the success of these schemes. In 2010 the City of Birmingham launched the Big City Plan with the intention to be one of the leading enterprising, innovative and green cities in the world by 2031. Students were able to then compare and evaluate the success of more recent developments such as New Street station and the library. The students enjoyed a lovely sunny day to carry out their fieldwork and the new library, New Street station and the Selfridges building in the Bullring proved to be very popular developments with the students. Students have since completed a detailed report comparing the environment, building design and overall success of two of the sites they looked at on the day. In the new library - opened 2013 Students sketching at Gas Street Basin - a gentrified site. The students in front of the reflective glass at New Street Station The Roof Top Garden of the Library SWANAGE 2015 Between the 15th and 17th September 2015, 93 of the year 11 Geography students went on a fieldtrip to Studland and Swanage Bay in Dorset. The purpose of this visit was to carry out a variety of fieldtrip techniques and to collect data in order to complete a piece of controlled assessment back in the classroom, looking at the success of coastal management and defence schemes in the area.